Adelaide Travel Guide

Tourist Guide

Goodness, Spice and All Things Nice

ADELAIDE TRIP: DAY
2

A sleep in this morning and a casual breakfast precede your second day in Adelaide where we encourage you to hop into your hire car for a short drive to the area known as the Adelaide Hills. But before you leave the city behind why not stop in at the Haigh's Chocolates at 154 Greenhill Rd., Parkside for a factory tour and pick up some goodies for the road.

Free tours of the factory run at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. Monday-Friday and 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays. On the tour, guides explain how they turn a bitter cocoa bean into mouth-watering chocolate. You can then enjoy a free tea or coffee, and chocolate of course.

With chocolates in hand, hit the road for the beautiful Adelaide Hills just 20 minutes east of the city. The Adelaide Hills is home to townships including Hahndorf, Stirling, Mount Barker, Lobethal and Birdwood and plenty of attractions that should keep you busy all day.

The best attractions in this area include Hahndorf with its quaint specialty shops, art and craft galleries and, thanks to its German heritage, some great places to enjoy lunch and a beverage, the National Motor Museum, the Cleland Wildlife Park and the Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary.

Hahndorf Inn

The Harris Smokehouse at 37 Main St., Hahndorf is a fourth generation family-owned and operated business that sources the highest quality seafood from around Australia and overseas, and uses traditional curing methods that visitors are welcome to sample and purchase.

Following some sampling why not head next door for lunch in the historic Hahndorf Inn. Built in 1863 the Hahndorf Inn features class German cuisine and typically hearty pub-style food in a comfortable setting. The pub is open seven days a week and serves meals from 11 a.m. each day.

After working off lunch with a wander down the main street, hop back into your car and head for Cleland Wildlife Park just a short drive away at Crafers. Nestled within the Cleland Conservation Park adjacent to Mount Lofty Summit, the park is spread out of 35 hectares of open bushland. Visitors can cuddle a koala and feed some of the largest kangaroos in Australia roaming around the open-plan environment.

Other animals include dingoes, wallabies, native Australian reptiles, Tasmanian Devils, emus and a large variety of waterfowls. The park is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day and costs $17 per adult and $9 per child. A family ticket costs $50. If you want to have your photograph taken holding a koala you must be at the park between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. or between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

For something completely different take the 15 minute drive to the nearby Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary located on Stock Road at Stirling which offers night-time tours with dinner. About one hour before sunset, guides at Warrawong set out to feed the local wildlife, many of which are nocturnal and therefore active at night.

Visitors can join the guide as he or she does his rounds in a 90-minute walking tour. Warrawong is the only place of its kind in South Australia where visitors can see platypus in their natural habitat.

Following the tour sit back and relax in the Bilby Cafe for dinner. The restaurant offers simple meals such as chicken caesar salad, salt and pepper squid, fish and chips, char-grill kangaroo and kids' meals.

A two-course dinner and nocturnal walking tour is available for $65 per person. Booking is essential.

Grumpy's Brewhaus

If you only want to do the nocturnal tour and not have dinner, or if you feel like a cleansing ale before you head back to Adelaide, stop in at Grumpy's Brewhaus at Verdun near Hahndorf. As well as offering good quality meals in a relaxed setting, Grumpy's Brewhaus is a microbrewery which produces a range of full-flavoured European-styled ales. Once you settle in, it might be hard to stay for just one. Thankfully, the drive back to Adelaide is only around 15 minutes. Cheers!